Bouncing Back and Winning Big

It's games like the one that the Eagles played on Wednesday that make you leave the gym thinking one word to yourself...Ouch. Not in a way that makes you sick to your stomach (unlike last Friday's adventure), but in the way that you just laugh and say it to yourself. 60-21? Ouch. At least, that's what I was saying to myself as I drove home from the Eagles' first home game of the '10-'11 season. Usually after these obviously mismatched games, fans have a tendency to think that the reason their team won by such an eye-popping amount was more due to the losing side than the winning one. But you know what else I was thinking as I drove home from the 40 point shellacking that the Eagles so kindly handed to the Clopton Hawks? "Ouch. The Hawks sure did get the best of us tonight."

Any fan who watched seriously tonight had to be impressed with the Eagles performance. They bounced back from that heart-breaking loss against FZN by wrecking Clopton 60-21. So they played a blood donor. Who cares? The boys looked sharp. The starting five couldn't have been more dominant. Let's go down the list...

Blake Meers: The MVP of the Tip-Off Classic didn't show any signs of slowing down tonight. After a slow start that included some missed shots down low, Meers let everyone know who was gonna dominate the post. He was physical, he pulled down rebounds, he put back misses, and he had 5 blocks. Need I say more?

Andrew Frank: The senior guard continued to impress Eagle fans tonight. Frank led all scorers tonight with 16. But as impressive as that is, even more impressive is how he did it. He was EVERYWHERE. I can't tell you how many fast-break layups and impressive drives he had tonight. And even still, he continues to command the floor. The way he handles himself with the ball is unmatched by anyone who sizes up with him on the hardwood.

Brendan Norwine: Brendan played tonight like he did last year. His ball-handling was impeccable. He had some nice drives and dishes. Most importantly for the Eagles though, he started to find his shot. He only shot two 3's tonight, but he did make one. One of the most dangerous things about Norwine is his ability to knock down open shots. I'm fully expecting defenses leaving him wide open as they guard Frank, Meers, and Adam Glenville. And with Brendan hot, that's good news for the Eagles.

Ben Pickett: The people call him Bendrick for a reason. Tonight, Pickett was excellent in his area of expertise: defense. When Ben is on, he is an absolute force down low. He can he use his quick hands to snatch the ball from a larger post-player, and he can also jump up there and stuff some guys too. Not only that, but Ben knocked down some tough shots tonight. In one instance, as he took a five-foot shot, two Hawk players yanked his arm down. No problem. He hit it anyway. He ended the night with 9 points. If Ben can continue to contribute his excellent defense and catch fire on the offensive side of the ball, opposing forwards are in for some trouble.

Adam Glenville: Last year's leading scorer looked like his old self tonight. He put up 14 points, tying him with Meers as the team's second leading scorer. But the thing that excited me about Glenville's game was his shot. Unlike last week, when he seemed to be forcing shots that weren't there, G-Money was smart with the ball tonight. When he wasn't comfortable with a shot, he kicked it out. But when he got an open look, he put it down. He knocked down 2 of 4 tonight. And from what we've seen, he can shoot even better. As an avid fan, I can't wait to go to games so I can see him put up 20-30 points night with about 3 or 4 threes thrown in there. And that day isn't far off.

So, all-in-all, tonight was a game that the Eagles could've played two ways.

1) Play with half the effort they could and know they could still walk away with a pretty sizable victory.
2) Play with intensity and make a point that no one is gonna win in their house.

Obviously, they went with option 2. And that's good. Because in their next two games, they won't get pushovers. On Friday, St. Charles High comes to CHS. And on Saturday, the Eagles go to Lindenwood to take on the always athletic Imagine Prep Bears. But I'm not worried. I'm looking forward to writing again on Saturday and telling you all about how strong and how dominant the Eagles look. And if they play like they did tonight, I'll get to do it all season long.